EPA600/R-21/178 | August 2021 | www.epa.gov/research
United States	European
Environmental	Environment
Protection Agency	Agency
Proceedings for Joint European
Environment Agency
and
US Environmental Protection
Agency Meeting
Held on January 27, 2021
Office of Research and Development
Center for Public Health & Environmental Assessment

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Preface
For a number of years, the European Environment Agency (EEA) and the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) have been sharing insights on various environmental aspects and learning from each other on
measuring and assessing progress towards a sustainable and resource efficient economy. The cooperation
has involved regular dialogue, exchange visits, and presentations on the latest developments from both sides.
This meeting, co-organized jointly by EEA and EPA, was a continuation of that collaboration to discuss the
importance of scientific evidence and information regarding the state of the environment and how
knowledge is transferred through a science-policy interface to policy makers. This meeting was timed to
follow the EEA's recent release of the European State of the Environment Report (SOER) 2020, developed
under the leadership of the EEA Executive Director, Hans Bruyninckx.
We look forward to further cooperation and deeper collaboration, recognizing the value of working together
to achieve sustainability and our environmental protection goals.

Jennifer Orme-Zavaleta
Mark Kasman
Hans Bruyninckx
Acknowledgements
EEA-EPA Event Committee: Stefania Minestrini (EEA), Galina Georgieva (EEA), Meridith Fry (EPA),
Britta Bierwagen (EPA), Susan Julius (EPA), Katherine Buckley (EPA)
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Agenda
Wednesday, 27 January 2021
Time
Item
Details
Speakers
8:00-8:40 - Opening remarks
Chairman: Mike Slimak - National Program Director of the Sustainable and Healthy Communities (SHC)
Research Program at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
8:00-
8:10
Importance and
commitment to developing
the Report on the
Environment (ROE) and its
role in fulfilling EPA's
mission
EPA Office of Research and
Development (ORD)
Principal Deputy Assistant
Administrator for Science
Jennifer Orme-
Zavaleta
o o
t:
CO CO
Continuation of
collaboration between EPA
and EEA on the
environment
EPA Office of International and Tribal
Affairs (OITA) Acting Assistant
Administrator
Mark Kasman
8:20-
8:40
Presentation of the State of
the Environment Report
(SOER) 2020
European Environment Agency (EEA)
Executive Director
Hans Bruyninckx
8:40 - 9:45 - Panel discussion - State of the Environment: European and U.S. perspectives
Moderator: Per Mickwitz - Lund University, Chair of the EEA Scientific Committee
EU panelist from Academia
Frank Geels - Manchester University, Member of the EEA
Scientific Committee
EU panelist from Member States
Laura Burke, Chair of the EEA Management Board, Ireland -
EPA Director
US panelist from Academia
Richard Moss, Adjunct Professor, Department of Geographical
Sciences, University of Maryland; Non-resident Fellow, Andlinger
Center for Energy and Environment, Princeton University
US panelist from EPA
Katherine Dawes, EPA Evidence Act Acting Evaluation Officer
9:45 - 10:00 - Closing remarks
EPA ORD SHC National Program Director
Mike Slimak
EEA Executive Director
Hans Bruyninckx
10:00 - End of the meeting
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Biographies of Speakers
Mike Slimak
Mike Slimak is the former Director of EPA's Sustainable and Healthy
Communities (SHC) Research Program. He is now retired, but completed more
than 42 years of service to EPA and worked in the Office of Research and
Development for 32 years. During his tenure at EPA, he worked in a variety of
EPA programs (water, toxic substances, pesticides), and was involved in many
important environmental issues including ecological risk, climate change,
invasive species, and biodiversity. He holds a B.S. in Biology, an M.S. in Wildlife
Ecology, and a Ph.D. in Environmental Science.
Jennifer Orme-Zavaleta
Jennifer Orme-Zavaleta is the former Acting Assistant Administrator for the
Office of Research and Development. Dr. Orme-Zavaleta has been with EPA
since 1981, working in the areas of human health and ecological research, risk
assessment, policy and regulation development, strategic planning, and
program implementation. The focus of her experience includes the evaluation
of risks to human and ecosystem health, and the influence of environmental
change on human health in response to a variety of stressors including synthetic
organic and inorganic chemicals, radionuclides, microorganisms, and vector-
borne disease. Dr. Orme-Zavaleta received her B.A. in Zoology from Ohio
Wesleyan University, M.S. in Zoology and Toxicology from Miami University, and
Ph.D. in Wildlife Science and Public Health from Oregon State University.
Jennifer has held a number of positions within EPA in the Offices of Toxic
Substances, Water, and Research and Development. In her current role, she not
only oversees research to support the Agency's mission, but also EPA's Scientific
Integrity program and EPA's Science and Technology Policy Council, including
the Risk Assessment Forum which is currently evaluating and updating EPA's
Risk Assessment Guidelines.
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Mark Kasman
Mr. Kasman is currently Acting Assistant Administrator for the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency's Office of International and Tribal Affairs,
normally serving as Director of EPA's Office of International Affairs. In his current
capacity, he leads EPA's international and tribal portfolios, and is responsible for
the full range of EPA's environmental policy development and program
implementation in tribal lands and in sovereign nations outside of the United
States. Mr. Kasman represents EPA within the United States Government and
works closely with tribal governments, foreign governments, international
organizations, and other key stakeholders on matters relating to the
environment. Mr. Kasman has over thirty years of environmental experience
working in the federal government and international organizations. On loan
from EPA in 2003-2005, Mark served as the Environment Management Specialist
forthe Greater Mekong Sub-Region (GMS) at the Asian Development Bank (ADB)
in Manila. Prior to coming to EPA, Mr. Kasman oversaw emerging agricultural
programs for the United Nations Development Program in Jakarta, Indonesia,
and worked at the Carter Center in Atlanta, Georgia. Mr. Kasman has an M.A. in
International Development from Columbia University, a B.A. in Internationa!
Studies from Emory University, and was a Senior Executive Fellow at Harvard's
Kennedy School. He has studied in Cairo as a Fulbright Scholar, in Jerusalem as a
Dorot Fellow, and in Vienna with Emory. Mr. Kasman also volunteers as an
Emory Ambassador.
Hans Bruyninckx
Hans Bruyninckx has been the Executive Director of the European Environment
Agency since 1 June, 2013. In 1996 Dr. Bruyninckx completed his Ph.D. in
international environmental politics at Colorado State University. From 2010
until his appointment at the EEA, he was head of the HIVA Research Institute in
Leuven, Belgium, a policy-oriented research institute associated with the
Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, where he was also head of the Political Science
department from 2007 to 2010. Over the last 20 years, he has conducted
research in more than a dozen countries, in areas including environmental
politics, climate change, and sustainable development. He has taught on global
environmental politics and global environmental governance in relation to the
European Union (EU), publishing extensively on EU environmental policies and
its role as an actor in global environmental governance. Throughout his career
Dr. Bruyninckx has worked with governmental agencies, civil society and
businesses, often in an advisory role.
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Per Mickwitz
Professor Per Mickwitz works as pro vice-chancellor for research, sustainability
and campus development at Lund University. During 2019-2020 he worked as
Director of the International Institute for Industrial Environmental Economics
(111 EE) at Lund University. Priorto working at Lund university Dr. Mickwitz worked
and lived in Finland. During 2012-18 he worked as research director at the Finnish
Environment Institute. He has a Ph.D. in environmental policy from the University
of Tampere. He has studied environmental policy evaluation, reflexive
governance, and energy and climate policy issues—in particular, issues related to
stability and change in socio-technical systems and the role of policies for these
processes. Between 2014 and 2018, he was the chair of the Finnish Strategic
Research Council, and since 2019 has been vice chair of the board of the Academy
of Finland. Since 2014 he has been a member of the Scientific Committee of the
European Environment Agency, and Chair of the Committee since 2018.
Frank W. Geels
Frank W. Geels is Professor of System Innovation and Sustainability at the
Manchester Business School at the University of Manchester. He is a world-
leading scholar on socio-technical sustainability transitions, combining insights
from innovation studies, evolutionary economics, and political science to
understand deep transformations in energy, mobility and agri-food systems.
Professor Geels published six books and 83 peer-reviewed articles on topics
including Science, Nature, Climate Change, and Global Environmental Change.
He was selected in the Highly Cited Researchers list (2014, 2019, 2020) and
elected as member of the Academia Europaea and Academy of Social Sciences.
He is a member of the Scientific Committee of the European Environment
Agency (EEA) and lead author of the Sixth IPCC Assessment Report. Mr. Geels
has consulted and written reports for the EEA, OECD, European Commission, and
U.K. Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy.
Richard Moss
Richard Moss has 30 years of experience at the science-policy interface. He has
held leadership positions at the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change,
the U.S. Global Change Research Program, The United Nations Foundation, the
World Wildlife Fund, and the Science for Climate Action Network. His research
focuses on scenarios, uncertainty characterization, and climate change
adaptation. He has served on numerous advisory boards and committees and
holds affiliations with Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, the University of
Arizona, the University of Maryland, and Princeton University.
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Laura Burke
Laura Burke is the Director General of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA), appointed in 2011, and served as a Director within EPA since 2004. As
Director General she has the responsibility to lead and strategically manage the
EPA. Laura is also the Chair of the European Environment Agency (EEA)
Management Board. Prior to joining the EPA, she worked in the private sector.
Laura is a graduate chemical engineer of University College Dublin (UCD), holds
an M.Sc. from Trinity College, Dublin, is a Fellow of the Institute of Engineers of
Ireland and the Irish Academy of Engineering, and is a Chartered Director. In 2016
Laura was awarded the UCD Engineering Graduates Association (EGA)
Distinguished Graduate Award.
Katherine Dawes
Ms. Katherine Dawes is a Senior Analyst in the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency's Office of the Chief Financial Officer (OCFO). Ms. Dawes serves as the
Acting Evaluation Officer under the EPA's implementation of the Foundations for
Evidence-Based Policymaking Act of 2018. She is an Adjunct Professor at the
Trachtenberg School of Public Policy and Public Administration at The George
Washington University. Ms. Dawes holds an M.P.A. and M.A. in Geography from
Syracuse University's Maxwell School and a B.A. from Dartmouth College.
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Short summary
The virtual event was organized in the context of the existing EEA - EPA cooperation framework and had
the following objectives:
•	To present the European State of the Environment Report (SOER) 2020, initially planned to take
placein 2020 by the Executive Director of the European Environment Agency.
•	To discuss the importance of scientific evidence and information regarding the state of the
environment and how trusted and actionable knowledge can be transferred through a science-
policyinterface to policy makers.
•	To enhance dialogue between the two Agencies in view of reinforcing existing cooperation.
More than 440 participants joined the virtual event. The expected outcomes were to consider the message
of the European SOER 2020 in light of the new political priorities of the European Union, and to get European
and U.S. perspectives on how scientific information and knowledge can better inform decision makers.
The SOER 2020 presentation and the panel discussion highlighted several important elements and
directions in pursuit of those outcomes. These elements includefocusing particularly on consumption and
production systems which are driving environmental impacts, bringing social sciences and business
strategies into policies, and scaling up innovation into society.
As part of the bilateral cooperation and follow-up actions, Hans Bruyninckx invited EPA colleagues to visit
EEA in Copenhagen and expressed his willingness to visit EPA again as soon as circumstances permit.
In his concluding remarks, Hans Bruyninckx reiterated the context and ambition for cooperation and
mentioned several fields in which both agencies could join efforts towards innovation—amongst others,
the use of Copernicus and satellite data, as well as data intelligence, artificial intelligence, and
digitalization.
Plenary Speakers
Mike Slimak (chairperson) introduced the meeting program, which included respective reporting programs
from EPA and EEA on the state of the environment and a panel discussion regarding the role of scientific
information and knowledge in the policy making process. He acknowledged the existing long-term
cooperation with EEA and hoped for having the next meeting in person as soon as the pandemic will allow.
Jennifer Orme-Zavaleta recalled the history of the Report on the Environment (ROE) and stressed the
importance of health indicators in the ROE from a public health perspective. She highlighted how health
indicators also provide information on social aspects, risks, and trends in the interlinkages between the
environment and human health.
Mark Kasman provided an overview of EPA activities on environmental protection from an international
perspective. He recalled his mission to Copenhagen when he formalized the cooperation between the EEA
and EPA under the Bush Administration and the regular meetings during that time. He stressed science-
based policy as a priority. He recognized how both reports (from EEA and EPA) can reinforce each other
and provide useful information to policy makers as well as important contributions to the United Nations'
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
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Hans Bruyninckx presented the SOER 2020 in the context of the new EU priorities. In setting the global
context, he provided several elements and main messages:
We face unprecedented challenges;
Urgent action is needed;
Climate change, biodiversity, and resource use are interconnected;
Remaining issues related to COVID-19; and
The European response to these challenges is the European Green Deal.
He presented the different trends in the European SOER 2020 regarding climate change, biodiversity,
resource use, and the circular economy.
He highlighted the economic impacts of climate change in Europe, the interlinkages between the
environment and health, the implementation gaps to 2020 European objectives, and the environment and
health risks related to pollution. He stressed the need for a new chemical strategy and a revision to how
we deal with risks.
He pointed out how, despite legislation and technology, environmental policy integration has been largely
unsuccessful for transportation and agriculture due to consumption habits and current production
systems.
He stressed how the transition toward sustainability should focus on four systems (food, mobility, energy,
and urban systems), investing in sustainability, focusing on social vulnerability, and just transitioning.
He concluded by delivering the key message that bold action is needed: there is a need for a stronger
implementation level, not only in doing things better but also in doing them differently; focusing on
fundamental transitions at the systemic level including different types of investments, sustainable finance
mechanisms, fostering innovation at the societal level, and involving society.
He stated that transatlantic partnerships and cooperation are crucial to scale up the necessary changes
needed to achieve SDGs.
Panel Discussion
The moderator of the panel discussion, Per Mickwitz, introduced the panelists (see biographies included).
The panelists discussed key points raised by the moderator, including: building on previous interventions
and considering a more ambitious climate and environment policy agenda, what knowledge should be
produced in order to support policymaking (e.g., in the form of state of the environment reporting), and
how knowledge produced should be presented and shared to ensure that it is transferred and used in
policymaking.
The discussion highlighted the need to understand underlying systems and their dynamics which are
driving environmental problems, the move toward transformative changes linked to sectoral and
economic policies (new financial mechanisms), and the integration of social sciences and business
strategies into policies.
In the next SOER 2025, EU panelists advised considering the four production systems (i.e., energy, food,
mobility, and housing) more systematically, what innovations are needed in these systems, and how to tie
in companies, investments, consumers, and social sciences.
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The added value of the European SOER 2020 to Ireland and other European member states was highlighted
in terms of providing benchmarks for countries to measure performance, stimulating coordination and
synergy in national reporting, building the intrinsic link between the environment and health, and
addressing socioeconomic aspects at the more local level.
From the U.S. side, it was highlighted how the recent Foundations for Evidence-Based Policymaking Act of
2018 (Evidence Act) has charged the U.S. with using data more rigorously and transparently in policy and
decision-making. The Evidence Act is driving U.S. policy toward prioritizing actions and goals, developing
partnerships that bring together science and governance, and identifying areas for further investment and
improvement. To continue advancing toward environmental goals, U.S. panelists mentioned specific
interests in applying indicators in a more comprehensive way (from a systems perspective); considering
interdependencies, uncertainties, and the potential for cascading failures across systems; integrating
social sciences to identify more effective approaches; and learning what innovations should be scaled up.
The relevance and importance of the Evidence Act at the local level (e.g., communities) as well at the federal
level were also clarified.
Concluding remarks from the panelists were focused on innovation and transformative change; linking
evidence to support good policymaking; integrating social sciences, big data, and artificial intelligence; and
scaling up environmental innovation into society.
Closing
In the closing remarks, Mike Slimak thanked all speakers and participants and both the EPA and EEA for
organizing the virtual event. He announced his retirement by the end of January 2021 and thanked his
colleagues over the years. He shared his hopes for a better world to be left for future generations.
Hans Bruyninckx considered this event a new start to exchanges between EEA and EPA. The EU has set a
very ambitious policy program, and he recognized the need to match policy ambitions with knowledge
ambitions. The EU-proposed transatlantic agenda for global change can be a basis for cooperation.
He highlighted the need for innovation and possible fields of cooperation where EEA and EPA could join
efforts: Copernicus and satellite data, data intelligence and artificial intelligence, and digitalization.
He concluded with an invitation to EPA colleagues to visit EEA in Copenhagen and expressed his interest
in visiting the EPA again as soon as possible.
Disclaimer
The views expressed in this Meeting Summary are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily
represent the views or the policies of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Any mention of trade
names, manufacturers or products does not imply an endorsement by the United States Government
or the EPA. EPA and its employees do not endorse any commercial products, services, or enterprises.
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